


watchers of stars, protectors of worlds

by WickedSong



Series: the sorceress and knight [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Gen, Pre-Canon, pre-KHI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-25 21:50:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17733314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WickedSong/pseuds/WickedSong
Summary: “It’s all right,” Rinoa admitted, but she still clung to the ring like it was some sort of lifeline. “It was a long time ago. And this place isn’t so bad, either. Not once you get to know it, at least.”But Leon knew there was a lot she was hiding behind those words; mainly how hurt she felt at the loss of her home. He knew, because he was dealing with the same things, in his own different way.For the first time, it made him feel not as alone as he did before.“You know,” he finally said, looking up at the sky, “You know, you might have been right before. About the stars, I mean.”





	watchers of stars, protectors of worlds

**Author's Note:**

> -Wow, you can tell how much I've really wanted to do this series, can't you? I can't stop the ideas from coming. I don't know roughly how many they'll be and I imagine my muse will falter at some point, so I'm just enjoying it at this point, to be honest.
> 
> -These are, obviously, non-chronological, and the plan is to write them in such a way that you can read one, and then go back to the series and still have a good idea of what's happening, because they don't follow a particular linear story-thread or anything like that so hopefully that will work out as I intend.
> 
> -Hope you guys enjoy!

Leon raised his gunblade, striking down the air with the sort of precision that his old Instructor would have praised him for. Recalling the numerous lessons he'd been taught, he stood with his feet apart, and a tight grip on the handle of his weapon.  It was in this stance that he slashed the air, again.

His enemy, he’d decided, was the darkness around him. Shadows, creatures he couldn’t see, lived in it, and so, Leon knew his purpose; the reason why he trained so often, so hard. It was all so he'd be able to send them back to the darkness where they rightly belonged. 

“Are you all right?”

Leon turned sharply, taken off guard at the fact that someone else was there with him; worried too that it might be some sort of enemy. These Alleyways, behind the Second District Hotel, were usually quiet, and especially at this time of day, which made it the perfect place to hone his skills.

He couldn’t help being jumpy either; he didn't know how he'd ever relax ever again given what he'd been through, and what he'd lost.

These things, too, were just too hard to face. He'd always had a particular talent from hiding from things he didn't want to deal with, in one way or another.

The voice that had startled him came from a girl, who looked to be around the same age as him. Leon thought he recognised her from the town meeting, held when they’d first arrived to Traverse Town. But he couldn’t be sure, and he wasn’t much in the mood to stay and find out.

Still, Leon paused, not sure how to proceed now that his gunblade was raised in her direction. The girl in question had her hands on her hips.

“That’s not a very polite way to answer someone,” she chided gently, with a raised eyebrow.

Leon, sheepishly, lowered his weapon.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

The girl looked content enough with his apology, seemingly accepting it with a smile. She gave a small nod of her head. In her brown eyes, he saw something that resembled concern, and he wondered why she might be worried at all.

“I get it,” the girl admitted. “Everyone here is always a little…on edge.”

And why wouldn’t they be? Anyone who had the misfortune to end up in Traverse Town did so because they had lost their home to the darkness. As the stars went out, the number of refugees arriving to what Aerith had called a ‘safe haven’, increased, and it looked as though there was no end to it in sight.

As Leon thought about it, as he was prone to these days, the girl in front of him coughed. It was clearly an attempt at drawing attention to the fact that she was still there. Leon didn’t understand why, to be honest.

He said as much with a shrug of his shoulders. “Can I help you with something?”

She watched him, almost expectantly, her hands now clasped behind her back.

“I just wanted to check you were all right,” she replied, with a nervousness that was different from how she’d marched up to him before.

Leon wanted to ask why she even  _cared_ , but he shook his head instead.

“Fine,” he answered, as gruffly as he could, walking right past her, hands tucked in his pockets.

And before this strange girl could say anything more, he’d already sheathed his gunblade and began the trek back to a place that he knew he’d never be able to call home.

* * *

Only a day later, Leon was helping Cid in the Accessory Shop. Cid complained that he spent too much time on his own, brooding and practicing in the Alleyways. So, he insisted that Leon help him, to take his mind off things.

“This is pointless,” Leon griped, as he stacked another box behind the counter. “I could be practicing right now. We don’t know when the Heartless-“

“A patrol is out right now,” Cid interrupted, gruffly. “A patrol of  _adults_  who can take care of the Heartless better than a sixteen-year-old kid can.”

Leon resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and the urge to mention that he  _had_  been training for the Royal Guard just before their world had fallen before their eyes. He was as competent as any other warrior who’d been displaced to Traverse Town, maybe even more so, but that wasn't going to stop Cid from treating him like, as the older man had said,  _'a sixteen-year-old kid'_.

“Besides,” Cid continued, “I promised your folks I’d keep you safe. And that’s what I’m gonna do.”

Leon hated it, too, whenever Cid thought to bring up his parents, as if their memory would fix the hole he’d felt in his heart since the day Radiant Garden fell.

But Cid  _was_  trying, and was now the closest thing to a parent that not just him, but Aerith, Yuffie and Cloud had left. Cid lost things to the dark too – his wife Shera was a casualty of the first of the Heartless attacks, just before their home was destroyed - and it was for that reason that Leon decided it was best not to argue, at least not now.

He grunted in response instead, continuing to stack the boxes full of protective charms, and gummi ship blocks that Cid had bartered for with a travelling merchant, from a place known as Disney Castle.

Cid  _did_  roll his eyes, and looked ready to delve into some other lecture, but his attention was caught by the bell to the shop ringing. Leon was grateful, and then surprised to see that it was the same girl who had bothered him the day before while he’d been training. 

She gave a friendly smile to Cid, one that the usually-sullen older man reciprocated, much to Leon’s surprise.

“What can I get you?” he asked, with an air of familiarity – everyone else had been better at getting to know the locals since they’d come here - but the girl shook her head, explaining that she was just having a look today.

Leon studied her, as furtively as he could, until he felt her eyes catching his too. Leon turned away, quickly, but he could still feel her; watching him. She dabbled in some small talk with Cid, asking after Aerith and Yuffie (which Leon thought was strange - he didn't realise they knew each other).

In this exchange too, Leon caught the girl's name.

 _Rinoa_.

She left, as quickly as she’d arrived, before Leon could say anything – not that he had planned on it. It didn’t stop, however, Cid’s chortle from his place beside him.

But the older man didn't say a thing about it while Leon continued his work in silence.

* * *

In Traverse Town, stars could blink out at any moment, signalling that another world’s light had been dowsed out. When they’d first arrived, Leon avoided looking at them altogether. But, at the end the first month of being in Traverse Town, and with any hope of somehow finding a way back home dwindling, he found there was a sort of comfort from watching them.

There wasn't all that much to do in Traverse Town anyway.

He’d climb, from the ladder behind the Gizmo Shop – sometimes taking out a stray Heartless or two in the process – and sit on top of the old-looking clock-tower. He'd watch, waiting until he could see Cid, in the distance, walking home from the Shop, knowing that to be the inevitable signal to return to the hotel they now called home.

Sometimes, Leon wasn't alone, either.

Yuffie – young, and still with a shred of childhood innocence that Leon knew she would lose sooner or later - made shapes with the stars in the sky, trying to make him smile in the process. If a star flickered out, she'd frown deeply at the sight, but never cry. Yuffie said that  _Great Ninjas_  never cried, no matter how young they were.

Aerith, on the other hand would thoughtfully wonder what kind of world disappeared. She'd tell Leon all about the worlds she'd read about in Merlin's books, or the ones her adoptive mother had told her about as a girl. She took great delight, too, in naming all the constellations she could see in the sky.

If Cloud joined him, the pair would simply sit in silence, and Leon didn’t mind that particular arrangement, at all.

On this particular night, a few days after Rinoa’s visit to the Accessory Shop, Leon found her, of all people, sitting on the top of the clock-tower. He was sure he had never seen her up here before.

Leon walked the few paces, until he was standing next to where she was perched.

“Are you following me or something?”

“I believe I was here first,” Rinoa replied, but not tersely. She didn’t even look at him, keeping her gaze focused on the stars above.

“This is my spot,” Leon replied, with his arms folded.

Rinoa tilted her head. “I mean, you don’t own it, do you?”

Leon sighed; he couldn’t argue with that.

Finally, Rinoa looked up at him. Her lips turned up into a warm smile; a warmth that managed, somehow, to reach her brown eyes too. It was strange, Leon thought, how calm he felt when he looked into her eyes.

He wasn’t sure if he liked the feeling, either.

“You can join me, if you’d like,” Rinoa offered, with a hand out to the space beside her. “None have gone out tonight.”

“Yet,” Leon added, and taking her offer despite thinking that he might be better to leave instead.

“That’s optimistic,” Rinoa replied, with a dejected-sounding sigh. She leaned forward, as a breeze stirred in the air, turning to Leon and pointing up to the night sky with one finger. “It’s a nice night. I don’t think any are going to fade tonight.”

Leon, though he didn’t believe that would be the case, wanted to believe her.

In silence, they kept their watch. Leon, eyes cast upwards, was as vigilant as ever. When a star twinkled, he felt himself tense, wondering if perhaps it was just the last vestige of light before it was gone forever.

Rinoa must’ve noticed.

“You’re Squall, right.”

And  _now_  she was resorting to small talk, most likely to keep him distracted. Aerith tried that too, when she noticed that he was particularly on edge, one night.

“Leon,” he corrected. “That’s my name.”

“But I thought-“

“It’s Leon,” he emphasised, hoping that she would drop it there.

Surprisingly, unlike Aerith and Cid, who would give him endless grief about changing his name, Though she smiled, Rinoa still looked curious, like he was a mystery she was just dying to solve. Leon thought she would be there for a long time, though he was relieved that she didn’t press it any further.

“I must’ve misheard when you were introduced at the town meeting,” she said. “My name’s-“

“Rinoa,” finished Leon, and for the first time, it was her turn to look taken aback that he might know something about her. Leon, for some amusement, let her think about it for a moment or two, before adding, “I heard Cid say it, a few days ago in the Shop.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Rinoa replied, looking down. But Leon could see her lips turn into a small smile, and he couldn't deny that it was a pretty one.

Of course, he’d never say  _that_  to her face.

“So, how are you finding the town?” she said, after a moment’s silence had passed. It seemed she didn’t like lulls in conversation, always having to fill up the silence. Strangely, it reminded Leon of his dad, but he was quick not to think about that for too long.

Leon looked down, kicking his feet in the air. He shrugged; his usual go-to response whenever anyone else asked him the same question, too.

“You know, I thought the same when I first came here,” Rinoa said, as if she understood. Leon wondered if she truly could.

“How long  _have_  you been here?”

He could see, by the surprise in her eyes, that she hadn’t been expecting that question. Truthfully, Leon wasn’t sure why he even asked. He was sure she probably would have told him without prompting.

And yet, there was a part of him that  _wanted_  to know. The same part of him that found her eyes calming, or her smile pretty.

And he didn’t understand it at all.

“It’ll be…five years, next month,” Rinoa replied, finally. For the first time, the usual cheerful demeanour he’d always seen from her seemed to disappear. She clasped a ring that hung on a chain around her neck.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Leon answered back, unable to imagine how he might feel in five years, if he was still here, stuck in Traverse Town; Radiant Garden still gripped in deep darkness.

It had only been a month since the world had disappeared and there were things he hadn’t even begun to think about, worried that if he did he might never be able to commit himself to the purpose he had for his life now.

That was what changing his name was about. Squall Leonhart was only a kid, a kid who couldn’t protect his world, family or friends. Leon would be better, faster, stronger.  _Leon_  would make sure that didn’t happen again.

“It’s all right,” Rinoa admitted, but she still clung to the ring like it was some sort of lifeline. “It was a long time ago. And this place isn’t so bad, either. Not once you get to know it, at least.”

But Leon knew there was a lot she was hiding behind those words; mainly how hurt she felt at the loss of her home. He knew, because he was dealing with the same things, in his own different way.

For the first time, it made him feel not as alone as he did before.

“You know,” he finally said, looking up at the sky, “You know, you might have been right before. About the stars, I mean.”

“Because  _we’ve_  been watching them?” Rinoa asked, sounding a lot more cheerful than she had moments before.

Leon shrugged; Rinoa laughed.

“Rinoa Heartilly and Leon,” she announced, proudly. “Watchers of Stars, Protectors of Worlds.”

Leon stiffened a little at her self-proclaimed title. After all, he hadn’t been able to protect anything. Though he knew there was no way for her to know that, it still stirred something in him uncomfortably.

The image of his mother and father struggling against the darkness. The sight of Elle falling, and her heart hurtling to the sky, while she'd been in the middle of casting a spell. Zell, Irvine; his other friends in the Cadets too; fighting for the lives they would eventually lose. There had been so much death and destruction; so many people he’d never get to see again.

Leon stood, suddenly. "I have to go."

“What’s the matter?” Rinoa asked, concernedly, as she too came to her feet.

But Leon refused to speak about it with Cloud, Aerith or Cid. And, as much as he’d found himself, to his surprise, enjoying watching the night sky with the girl in front of him, he didn’t feel that he could bare his soul to her either.

He shook his head.

“It’s nothing,” he lied, easily, before repeating, “I have to go.”

Rinoa didn’t look like she wanted to argue any further. She gave him what looked like a forced smile, and then nodded towards the First District.

“It  _is_  getting late. I should be getting home.”

She waved, and without another word walked straight past him, down the ladder. Leon watched from where he stood, until she was out of sight. Just before she slipped through the door to the First District, Rinoa turned. She only smiled again, before she was gone from sight. Leon groaned and let out a long sigh to the empty space beside him, before he too descended back down to the Second District, and towards the Hotel.

Aerith was waiting for him at the doors. She had a knowing smile on her face, but if she'd noticed who he'd spent the evening with she didn't say a word about it. Leon was glad; he didn't think he had the energy to endure her questions or teasing. Aerith looked upwards; Leon was surprised by what he found when he followed her gaze.

"Look at that," she mused. "It's-"

"A full sky of stars," Leon replied. It was just as Rinoa had predicted.

He looked back to the clock-tower, and then the door to the First District, where she'd disappeared, strangely looking forward to the next time he saw her so he could tell her about them himself.

**Author's Note:**

> -I did consider making this a little longer, but I ended up liking where I ended it, in terms of how it links into another pre-canon story that I want to write too.
> 
> -If you're enjoying these then please stay tuned, and as always, leave a wee kudos or let me know what you think in the comments below. Or, if you don't want to do either of these things, that's cool and thanks for reading. Every hit is appreciated! Thanks in advance! :)
> 
> -pps. happy 20th anniversary to FFVIII! It will forever be my video game soulmate, and my favourite video game in general. Squall and Rinoa will also always be the og otp!


End file.
